Whole Foods Signs Lease For Chappaqua Crossing

A rendering of the proposed Whole Foods for Chappaqua Crossing.Photo Credit: Barton PartnersA screenshot of renderings for the proposed Whole Foods at Chappaqua Crossing.Photo Credit: ScreenshotChappaqua Crossing will be home to a new Whole Foods supermarket.Photo Credit: ContributedA screenshot of Summit/Greenfield's preliminary development concept plan, which is the layout for the Chappaqua Crossing retail proposal.Photo Credit: Screenshot

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CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- Whole Foods Market has signed a lease for a 40,000-square-foot space at Chappaqua Crossing, making formal a proposal that had previously been disclosed in developer Summit/Greenfield's application material for its proposed overhaul of the site.

The news was specified in a press release issued Wednesday, May 7, on behalf of site developer Summit/Greenfield, while Whole Foods
made its own lease announcement
as part of its quarterly earnings information. The latter only mentioned the community location and not the site itself.

The future Whole Foods building will be a free-standing structure on the southern portion of the property. Described by the developer as an “anchor,” it will be part of a total of 120,000 square feet of retail space proposed for the property.

The proposal involves rezoning a 19.1-acre southern portion of the former Reader's Digest campus to allow for retail. The application for the rezoning is pending before the New Castle Town Board.

The Chappaqua Crossing location, if built, would be for Whole Foods' fourth store in Westchester County. The grocery chain currently has spots in White Plains, Port Chester and Yonkers.

Summit/Greenfield, which is a joint venture of Summit Development and Greenfield Partners, acquired the property in 2004. The developer also has zoning approval for 111 housing units, which are a mix of condominiums and townhouses to be located along the eastern portion of the 120-acre site. However, the newest layout proposed for the property, called a preliminary development concept plan, has the buildings repositioned from what was previously called for.

In a statement, Summit Development President Felix Charney touted the addition.

“There has been a great deal of interest in Chappaqua Crossing on the part of many prominent grocers, but we believe Whole Foods Market is the perfect fit for Chappaqua and the entire New Castle community. The new stores will enable Chappaqua residents to shop in their hometown, which will provide a boost for retail businesses townwide. The new center will bring much-needed tax revenue to the town and its outstanding school system. We expect to make other announcements that will bring a world-class fitness facility and other features that will serve the daily needs of Chappaqua.”

Charney also called Whole Foods “a leading brand not only in the world of organic food markets but in the entire supermarket industry.”

The developer expects the zoning, along with and site plan review for the retail, to be finished by later this year. This would happen before any construction begins.

The proposal of retail at the site has been controversial, as people in opposition have expressed concerns about traffic, Daily Voice has previously reported. For Daily Voice's previous Chappaqua Crossing coverage,
click here
.